STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE COMPLETION RATES OF DOCTORAL STUDIES IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA

Abstract

This study addresses students’ perception of factors that influence completion rates of doctoral studies in public universities in Kenya. The study adopted qualitative research with a retrospective design. The target population, selected through purposive sampling was thirty (30) respondents, composed of 60% males and 40% females. 19(63.3%) of the respondents were on duty full-time, and the rest on study leave. Instruments for data collection included questionnaire, Focused Group Discussion (FGD) for students, document analysis and interviews for Deans of schools. The objective of the study was to examine students’ perception on completion rates of doctoral studies in public universities. The findings indicated that causes of delay included students not only on full time duty with minimum time for studies, unaddressed social and academic challenges but also financial constraints, unsupervised supervisors with many duties but take responsibilities in other institutions, inadequate provision of quality resources and poor working environment by public institutions. It was concluded that public universities need to implement effective mechanisms to, monitor and evaluate supervision process of doctoral studies, train and re-train supervisors to adopt best practises in their duties, and establish counselling units at school level to meaningfully deal with students’ various issues. It was recommended that for public universities to retain their role in national development through production of high skilled labour, adequate quality services have to be provided, strengthen monitoring and evaluation of doctoral supervision, and encourage students to get study leave for quality study time.